A Guide to Buying 4-Letter .com Domains

If the concept of premium domains is new to you, we have written an extensive article about the features and benefits of premium domains (I do recommend taking a glance). Otherwise, if you are familiar with the topic, you can browse our curated list of 4-letter .com domains for sale.

We have also recorded a video presentation summarizing the guide.

Why Are 4-Letter Domains Sought-After? 

A brief online search will reveal numerous platforms offering 4-letter domain names for sale. If you pursue the listings, it will become evident that these domains are highly sought-after and often come with significant price tags.

So what drives the demand? Our observation is that the demand is driven by companies looking to establish a brand as well as investors looking to secure a digital asset that is limited in supply (more about that later).

Brand Appeal

First and foremost, short domains make great brands!

1. Short

When creating a brand, shorter is better! Shorter names are easy to share and remember.

For inspiration, we listed a few well-known companies with 4-letter brand names and matching .com domains.

2. Memorable

Short names tend to be more memorable. Memorable is the most important characteristic of a great brand.   

How often have you found yourself asking the question: “What was the name of that company?…”. The harder the name is to remember, the more expensive it is to advertise. On the other hand, a memorable brand name can help improve the effectiveness of ad campaigns, facilitate communication, and enhance brand recall.

For more insight into naming a brand, visit our brand naming service page where we have outlined a step-by-step strategy for naming a business with a matching .com.

Limited Supply

Short domains are defacto limited in supply. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, therefore are 456,976 possible combinations of 4-letter domains (26 x 26 x 26 x 26).    

Since 2013, every single combination with 4 letters has been registered!

Words like “scarce”, “rare”, and “limited”, are music to an investor’s ear. That’s because there are only a handful of asset classes that check the boxes – lesser known are premium domains.

Beyond brand-ability, short names are also investment vehicles that are:

1. Limited to supply
2. Appreciating in value
3. Easy to transfer
4. Cheap to maintain

As such, short names are also traded amongst domain investors. Have a look at ShortNames.com for more information on the liquid market for short names. The website maintains a list of auctions, sales, and historical price charts.  

Ultimately, domains are limited in supply and have intrinsic value, which makes them very attractive to astute investors. That being said, not all domains are equal. Whether investing or creating a brand, it’s crucial to understand how combinations of letters affect value.

Understanding 4-Letter Domain Combinations

Dictionary Words

The “crème de la crème” are 4 letter dictionary words. Words that are common in the English language are even more attractive. Acquiring such a domain is no easy task since they are very limited in supply. When they do come to market, they tend to command significant numbers. Although most domain transactions remain confidential, some transactions are disclosed, listed below are some of the most expensive 4-letter domain sales.

Two Repeating Letters

An up-and-rising category of premium domains adds a twist to popular 3-letter words. So what’s the idea?

It’s simple and intuitive. The idea is to take a descriptive 3-letter word a repeat the last letter.

The result is a short 4-letter .com domain that is:

1. Descriptive 
2. Brandable
3. Unique 

For this particular approach to branding, I am very proud that we represent some exceptional domains. These include domains like “PAYY.com”, “KEYY.com”, and “FLYY.com”.

This approach to branding is already widely adopted. Here are some examples of companies leveraging this approach.

Repeating letters at the end is the preferred combination. However, it’s not a must. You can adopt this method by repeating the first letter or the middle one. For example, “BIG” would become “BBIG” and “EAR” would become “EAAR”.

Two Syllables

Great brands are easy to pronounce. Pronounceable brand names are easy to share and remember. One approach to creating such a brand is to mix consonants (C) and vowels (V). My two favorite combinations are CVCV and VCVC. An example of a popular CVCV domain is TEMU.com, and a VCVC one is UBER.com.

Try mixing vowels and consonants and see how easy they are to pronounce!

Random Letters

Random combinations of 4 letters tend to be the least valuable, especially when the combination is hard to pronounce and has no meaning.

That being said, there are some exceptions for established brands with long names. 4-letter domains make for great acronyms. For example:

1. HSBC.com – Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
2. KPMG.com – Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler
3. ESPN.com – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

Other TLDs?

The demand for .com domains far exceeds the supply. That’s why there is a huge push to sell alternative extensions. More than 1,500 were created! Do you know there is .bike, .bible, .click, .glass, .football, etc? The list is endless and absurd. Most extensions make for poor brands, and from an investment point of view, they are usually worth little. When possible, we advise acquiring the .com extension. .com is the only extension that is understood and recognized worldwide.

Conclusion

In conclusion, short 4-letter domains hold a distinct marketing advantage. Their brevity not only ensures easy recall but also facilitates communication.  

Furthermore, the memorability of these brands enables them to stand out from the competition, which is particularly important in our times when attention spans are limited. 

For any domain and branding inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us or browse our exclusive 4-letter .com listings.